Chu Xuan had already collected a full set of them on Blue Star. Even now, it diligently produced the flesh and blood of the Dark Nether Falcon every day to accelerate his body tempering process. To his surprise, another one was here?
Chu Xuan furrowed his brows, lost in thought. Previously, when he had ventured to Soul Star, he had learned that the Psionic Cubes were distributed by the Soul Star inhabitants. Their purpose was to hasten the evolution of life forms on planets like Blue Star and Pegasus Star, eventually leading them to Soul Star to become food for the inhabitants.
However, after Chu Xuan had slain the Greedy King and the Slaughter King, and explored their memories, he had failed to uncover the origins of the Psionic Cube. It seemed that the Psionic Cube had existed on Soul Star since the time when the inhabitants first gained intelligence, established nations, and developed Psionic technology.
In hindsight, it made sense. Soul Star's system was built upon soul technology, all centered around soul power. It would be strange for them to have created something entirely separate from their soul system, like the Psionic Cube which was based on Psionic energy.
This matter had always remained unanswered, and so Chu Xuan had set it aside. After all, there were more pressing matters in the cultivation world. But now, seeing the Psionic Cube again, these old thoughts resurfaced in his mind. The origin of the Psionic Cube remained a mystery.
"This giant corpse is humanoid... Blue Star doesn't have humanoid creatures . And what are those humanoid creatures that are devouring the giant corpse? Zombies?"
Chu Xuan pondered. At this depth of ten thousand meters, the ocean of Blue Star must have undergone some strange mutations. Even with his body tempered to the thirty-eighth level, Chu Xuan had to use all his strength to endure the pressure at this depth. Yet, the giant corpse remained intact, not crushed by the immense weight of the ocean.
The humanoid creatures were able to move freely, even while devouring the giant corpse, without being affected by the sea's pressure. This suggested that their physical strength was incredibly formidable. Of course, it was also possible they possessed unique abilities, like creating a biological field around themselves to negate the weight of the water.
"These creatures are no simple matter. I cannot risk myself without knowing their true strength."
Chu Xuan thought for a moment, then shook his head decisively. With their strength unknown, the only thing he would gain from this encounter was another Psionic Cube, but the potential benefit wasn't worth the risk.
"Hmm? Why are there green seaweeds at the bottom of the ten-thousand-meter deep sea?"
Chu Xuan suddenly noticed a patch of tender green seaweed growing beneath the giant corpse. The humanoid creatures dropped the remnants of the meat they devoured, and these pieces were quietly absorbed by the seaweed. The humanoids seemed entirely focused on eating, unaware that the seaweed was quietly feeding off their scraps.
Chu Xuan frowned, deep in thought. At ten thousand meters underwater, where no sunlight reached, green plants should not be able to grow.
Chu Xuan didn't approach any closer. Instead, he turned and left. The area ahead would have to wait for another day to be explored. Once he tempered his body to the fortieth level and reached full mastery in his Nascent Soul stage, he would return to uncover the secrets here. It could wait.
In the Heavenly Metal Battlefield, at the medium spiritual stone mine, Chu Xuan listened to Hu's report, and could not help but shake his head repeatedly.
"Why is everyone so fixated on this medium spiritual stone mine?"
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He had been cultivating on Blue Star for five years, and it had been half a year since he last visited the Heavenly Metal Battlefield. According to Hu's report, in the past six months, no fewer than four Nascent Soul cultivators had arrived, each intending to take control of the medium spiritual stone mine. Of course, they had all become food for the Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings.
Moreover, due to the rapidly depleting Spiritual Qi in the Heavenly Metal Battlefield, these four Nascent Soul cultivators had lost their strength as Nascent Soul experts. Their power now was roughly equivalent to the Golden Core late-stage.
There was no need for all three of the Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings to gang up on them. Even one of them could easily take care of these invaders trying to seize control of the mine.
Chu Xuan casually collected the massive pile of medium spiritual stones from the warehouse. He was about to return to Blue Star to continue his cultivation when he raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.
"Perfect timing. I was just wondering what the situation in the Heavenly Metal Battlefield is like now."
Meanwhile, on the other side, Han Yiren was cautiously making her way toward the medium spiritual stone mine. Two Nascent Soul early-stage puppet wolves followed her, one ahead and the other behind. However, both wolves were badly wounded, with deep gashes all over their bodies. Their movements were stiff and slow. After walking a short distance, one of the puppet wolves suddenly froze in place with a sharp, grinding noise.
Han Yiren cursed under her breath and quickly retrieved a medium spiritual stone from her storage bag. She shoved it into the core of the puppet wolf.
After a brief moment, the wolf began moving again, but its actions were sluggish. The medium spiritual stone's Spiritual Qi was simply insufficient when compared to that of a large spiritual stone, so the wolf's movements remained far from smooth.
Han Yiren muttered to herself, "I only have eighteen medium spiritual stones left. Just a little more… As long as I can reach that medium spiritual stone mine…"
Not long ago, she had been stationed to guard a large spiritual stone mine, only for it to be attacked by demonic cultivators. In order to survive, she had to use her shifting technique to escape, leaving Yang Yuze to die in her place. She barely managed to escape with her life.
Later, as the Demonic Cultivators grew stronger, the Reincarnation Divine Sect's space was continuously compressed. She had no idea where to go next. She suspected that Ximen Changqing was involved in some way, but she also dared not return to Heaven-Six City. In the end, she had no choice but to take refuge in a small herb garden and survive in hiding.
In the Heavenly Metal Battlefield, great changes were unfolding. The Ancient Beasts were rampaging across cities, and the Spiritual Qi was rapidly depleting. The cultivators, in a desperate bid for survival, had started to turn on one another.
Junior brothers were killing their senior brothers, masters were slaying their disciples, and spouses were turning against each other. The division between the righteous and demonic paths was no longer as clear-cut as before. Survival had become the primary concern.
Fortunately, Han Yiren still had a sufficient supply of spiritual stones, which allowed her to barely maintain her Nascent Soul first layer cultivation. The two Nascent Soul early-stage puppet beasts she had with her were also a major asset. They helped her survive and kept the cultivators who might have targeted her at bay.
However, puppet beasts were not cheap to maintain. Their consumption of spiritual stones was enormous. She had no choice but to be careful and avoid attempting to seize a large spiritual stone mine. Thinking back, she had no other option but to take a great risk and come here, to this medium spiritual stone mine.
"There are rumors that the yin energy here is very heavy," Han Yiren muttered, her eyes scanning the dark and ominous medium spiritual stone mine. "It seems there are wild corpse puppets in the area. Those Nascent Soul cultivators who came before… They're probably all dead at the hands of these wild corpse puppets."
Corpse puppets did not consume Spiritual Qi, and yet they still maintained terrifying strength. Many demonic cultivators had their powers weaken to the point where they couldn't control their own corpse puppets, and as a result, were backstabbed by them. It was likely that the wild corpse puppets here had originated from such incidents.
With a determined look, Han Yiren carefully took out two talismans, placing them in her palm, flipped face-down. These were her last remaining trump cards. She had already used most of her other tricks in various battles with other cultivators.
"Those cultivators have been reduced to Golden Core late-stage at best," she thought, her eyes narrowing with focus. "But I'm different. I still retain my Nascent Soul cultivation, and with the two Nascent Soul early-stage puppet beasts, I still have the upper hand."
Her eyes hardened. "No matter how many wild corpse puppets are here, I will take control of this place. Otherwise, in a month, my strength will plummet. By then, forget about a medium spiritual stone mine. I won't even be able to take a small spiritual stone mine!"